Senator bashes Red Cross for lack of transparency with Haiti funds

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa released a 309-page report criticizing the American Red Cross’s use of donations to help people in Haiti affected by the 2010 earthquake. He found that the Red Cross spent $125m of the money given to the aid body for work in Haiti on fundraising, management, and other costs. The bulk of the remaining money was fanned out to different partner organizations, which had their own overhead costs. These organizations would carry out humanitarian projects on the ground. The report claimed that the Red Cross failed to provide a detailed report showing how the money was used, though the Red Cross rebuffed this claim, stating, “‘We have accounted for every penny spent in Haiti.’”

To make matters worse, the Red Cross has its own internal ethics and accountability body that is responsible for making sure that funds are used effectively. However, the body has only three staff members. Grassley’s report came after a 2015 ProRepublica and NPR investigation that claimed that, despite having received nearly $500m in donations, the Red Cross built only six homes in Haiti for earthquake victims.